Wafer machine



' July 21, 1936. AF ET AL 2,048,011

WAFER MACHINE Filed Oct. 29, 1934 3 Skieets-Shee'b 1 weza I I 50[ 5 Leaf 5g fiif m July 21, 1936- s. s. LEAF ET AL 2,048,011

WAFER MACHINE Filed Oct. 29, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 57 76 izz/e 2, @125: 50[ 5 Leaf 3 IiegaZo avzzx )Liegmw Patented July 21, 1936 STATES PATENT OFFIQE WAFER MACHINE Application October 29, 1934, Serial No. 750,451 2 Claims (01. 10758) The present invention relates to a wafer machine, and is particularly concerned with machines adapted for the manufacture of wafers of the typeutilized for making ice cream sandwiches and frequently called wafiles.

The present machines and methods may, however, be utilized for manufacture of all kinds of wafers, and we do not wish to limit ourselves to any particular type of product.

According to the methods of the prior art, wafers of the type illustrated herein were manufactured in large sheets and the circular wafers were then completed by cutting out the circular Wafers with substantially circular knives, the material between the respective wafers being wasted.

Furthermore, the methods of the prior art required considerably more handling of the product than the present methods, and the expense was increased by the amount of waste pastry and the multiplicity of operations required in the manufacture of the wafers. 7 One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of an automatic machine adapted to manufacture circular wafers of the class described.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved methods of manufacture and manipulation of the wafers, by means of which the wafers may be manufactured at a lower cost and in greater volume in the same space over the methods of the prior art.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved extracting mechanism for removing wafers of the class described from the molds without damaging the wafers and for permitting the continuous and automatic operation of the machinery for making wafers.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several viewsf Referring to the drawings, of which there are three sheets,

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a wafer baking machine constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of a wafer of the type turned out by the foregoing machine;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one end of the machine showing the molding and wafer extracting mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one-half of one of the mold units showing the details of the mold and wafter extracting mechanism with parts of the mechanism in section taken on the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showing details of construction of the two molds which make up one mold unit and the accompanying extracting mechanism.

Referring now to Fig. 2 and to Fig. 4, Fig. 2 is the sectional view of the wafer made by the present machine, and the right hand illustration in Fig. 4 shows the plan view of one side of the wafer. The present wafers are circular in form, as shown in Fig. 4, but might obviously be made of any geometrical shape and the circular form is merely exemplary of one type of wafer.

Referring to Fig. 2, the present wafers are preferably provided at the edge on the top and bottom with a peripherally extending upwardly projecting rib ID and a downwardly projecting rib II on the wafer I2. The wafer is also preferably provided with the transversely extending ribs I3 on top intersected by the other ribs It at right angles thereto, and on the bottom it is provided with ribs I5 and I6 at right angles to each other.

The ribs I3, I4 are preferably staggered with respect to the ribs I5, I6, thereby greatly increasing the strength of the wafer and for the purpose of causing the wafer to stick to one of the halves of the mold we prefer to make the ribs on one side of the wafer higher, that is, the depressions in the mold are deeper and, therefore, they tend to retain the wafer on that half of the mold.

Referring to Fig. 1, the wafer machine, which is indicated in its entirety by the numeral I1, is provided with suitable longitudinally extending frame members I8, I9, 20, and suitable vertically extending frame members 2|, 22 for supporting and guiding the elements of machinery. The machine is also provided with a suitable housing 23, which encloses the major portion of the mechanism, and the machine is provided with an oven or baking means within the housing. 23 for baking the wafers after the molds have been filled. The molds are filled at the right end of Fig. 1 and progress toward the left in Fig. 1 at the top, and as the molds come out of the oven at the bottom of Fig. 1 progressing toward the right, the wafers are done.

The frame members I9 and comprise guides for movably supporting an endless chain which is made up of a plurality of mold units 24, each of the mold units being provided with a pivotal connection to two adjacent, mold units by means of the shafts 25 which are equipped withrollers 26. At the right hand end of the machine the frame work is provided with a pair of bearings 21 for rotatably supporting the shaft 28, which bears a pair of sprocket wheels 29 having "circular grooves 36 regularly spaced about their peripheries for receiving the rollers 26.

The sprocket wheels 26 are driven by any'suitable driving mechanism, such asan electric motor and suitable reducing gearing, and the sprocket wheels 29 constitute the driving means for the endless chain of mold units 24.

Referring to Fig, 4, this is a View showing in plan one of the halves of the mold unit 24 with certain other parts in section, For example, each mold unit comprises a supporting plate 3| having a pair of bearing lugs 32 projecting therefrom at each end, the lugs having bores33- forreceiving the shafts 25. The lugs 32 at one end are offset with respect to the lugs 33' at the opposite end tending at right angles to'each other to make the wafersof the configuration shown in Fig. 2; The grooves in the mold member 36 are deeper than the grooves in the opposite mold member 381,-.so that the wafer will-stick to the mold member 36.

Itshould be. notedthat while the present mold unit is adapted to make two wafers, the mold units might be made for single wafers or for any suitable number of wafers. Atone end the mold member 36 is provided with the upwardly projecting bearing lugs 36, eachlug having a cylindrical bore 40 for receiving the shaft 41. The

mold 36 is provided with grooves 42, 43, 44,-each groove being substantially rectangular in section as shown in Fig. 5, and extending'across the mold member 36, as shown in Fig. 4. The grooves 42-44 are adapted to be filled by the metallic strips 45, 46, 41-, which are substantially rectangular in section and complementary in shape to the grooves and which are movably mounted with respect to the mold member 36 by means'of the shaft 4| with which the strips 45-41 rotate.

Strips 45, 46 and 41 are of such width and so located and the grooves 42-44 are so located that they intersect a part of the wafer forms 48 on the mold member 36, and, therefore, the upper surfaces of the strips 46-41 bear the molded formations 49, 56, 5|, 52, which form a part of the wafer In other words, the .strips 45-41 constitute extractors for extracting the wafers from the mold,

and they are movable parts ofsthe mold located directly underthe wafer or between the wafe and the mold at the points 46-52.

When the wafer .has been baked and is still adhering to the mold member 36, it may beremoved by rotary movement of the shaft 4! which lifts the extractors 45-41 from the mold member 36 and separatesthe wafer from the mold. In order to make sure that the wafers will not adhere to the extractors 45-41, which also form a part of the mold, the framework is preferably provided with asupporting arm 53 having a part 54 which extends over adjacent the ends of the extractors 45-41, and the arm portion 54 is proforthe' purpose of forming the ribs l3,

vided with the inwardly projecting plates 56, 56, of sufficient area to substantially fill the space between the extractors 46-41 and to strike the 7 wafers as the extractors move past the plates 55,

56 to separate the wafers from the extractors.

The shaft 4| is provided at its end witha camming member 51 having camming formations 58, 59 extending in opposite directions from. the

- movement of the lever 66 are determined by a slot 63 located in a stop member 64 carried by the frame member l9 and adjacent its upper end. Lever 66 carries a lug or plate 65 for engaging the end 59 of camming member 51.

Referring to Fig. 3, as the endless chain comprising the mold units 24 progresses upward in .Fig. 5, and the extractors lift the wafer from the mold member 36.

being disposed diagonally withrespect to the direction of movement of the'cam 61 toward the lug 65, the lug 65 slides off the end 59, the spring 62 permitting the lever 66 to move toward the right and the cam member 51 passes lug 65 after 7 r 7 it has actuated the extractors 46-41;

The. framework I8-22 of the machine also The lever '66 being spring pressed, and the end 59 ofthe cam member 51 supports a plate or lug 66; as shown inFig. 3,,

in the path of the end 58 of cam 51, and when the mold unit 24 has'progres sed to a point where the cam 51 strikes lug 66 the extractors 45-41 are rotated in a counterclockwise direction by the engagement of end 58 with plate 66. The arrangement in this case is such that the end 58- passes over the plate 66 when the extractors have been moved back into the grooves 42-44 of mold member. 36, and-the cam member 51 is left in the position shown at the" top of Fig. 3 after it has passed plate 66.

It will thus be observed that the extractors wafers from' the mold member 36 as the mold units progress about-the right end of the machine. Each mold unit .24 has its supporting plate 3! provided at the right hand end in Figs.

45-41 are automatically actuated to eject the 4 and 5 with the upwardly projecting bearing lugs 61 having the circular bores 68 for-receiving the shaft 69; Shaft 69 rotatably supports the mold supporting plate 16 by means of its bearing lugs 11. The mold supporting plate 16 is provided on the side-which is toward the mold member 36 with the mold members '38 which 7 may consist of the separate circular mold members, each provided with the transversegrooves 7 M on the top of the wafer 12. V

The supporting member 3|: also supports at its left end, Fig. 5, a latching member 12 comprising a downwardlyextending metallic meme ber provided with a groove 13, the lower wall' of which constitutes a retaining surface.

The supporting plate 16 is provided at its a curved guide member 11, Fig. l, which ex- 7 tends from the point! at the bottom of the right hand end of the 'machine tothe point 19 at the top of the right hand end of the machine. A second guide member extends from the point 8| to the point 82.

The two guide members 11 and 80 are so curved that when the mold units 24 pass up around the sprocket 29 at the right end of the machine, the roller 16 is guided between the members IT and in such a manner that mold supporting member 10 is pivoted downward in Fig. 1, or outward toward the right from mold supporting member 3|, thereby separating the molds, as shown in Fig. l. The guides continue to the points 19 and 82 where they bring the two halves of the mold again into engagement with each other after the mold has been filled with a suitable supply of batter.

Referring to Fig. 1, 83 indicates in its entirety a suitable device for supplying batter to the mold member 36 as the mold member progresses along the guide 20. This batter supplying means 83 may be of any convenient type and is preferably provided with a step by step motion so that the discharge spout 86 progresses with the mold while the batter is flowing.

The lug M, Fig. 5, is provided with a pivotally mounted latching member 85, which comprises a stirrup formed with a yoke 86 having a pair of legs 81 pivotally mounted on the pin 88. At the right hand end of Fig. 5 of the latching member 85, it is provided with a trunnion 89 having a roller 99, and at the left hand end, Fig. 5, the two legs 81 carry a roller 9| by means of pin 92. The roller 9| is adapted to engage in the groove 13, Fig. 5, to lock the two halves of the mold in closed position, and the mold units, which are seen at the bottom of Fig. 1, are in such position.

The framework is provided with a camming member E33, a fragment of which is shown at the top of Fig. 5, which extends downward and toward the right in Fig. 5, or horizontally and diagonally into the plane of the paper in Fig. 1, for the purpose of camming the rollers 90 in a counter-clockwise direction to remove the rollers 9! successively from the grooves T3 of the latching member 72, to unlock the molds as they reach the right end of the machine. Thus the camming member 93 unlocks the molds before they reach the guides 11 and 86, and after reaching the guides Ti and 8D the movement of the mold member 10 is controlled by engagement of the roller 16 between the guides i1 and 8B.

A similar camming member at the top of the machine, engages the roller 98 and again locks the molds after they have been filled with batter, as shown at the top left of Fig. 1. The molds are then carried into the baking oven, which is enclosed within the housing 23, and when they again emerge at the bottom of Fig. 1, the wafers are baked.

The machine is provided with a suitable container 94, which is located to receive the wafers as they are discharged from the molds, and the wafers may be gathered and packed by hand or by suitable machinery.

The present method of making and handling wafers comprises the separation of a pair of mold members, the filling of one of the mold members with a suitable charge of batter, bringing the molds into juxtaposition with one another, baking the batter in the mold, separating the mold members, retaining the wafer on one of the mold members by means of enlarged surface formations on the wafer, lifting or extracting the wafer from the latter mold member by moving a portion of the mold member away from the major part of the mold member to lift the wafer, and again filling the mold and repeating the cycle.

It will thus be observed that the present mechanism is adapted to operate automatically to make the ribbed wafers of circular form without the necessity for cutting out the wafers from large sheets of ribbed material and without the waste which was caused by the prior art. The extracting mechanism operates automatically without any substantial amount of breakage, and the machine may be operated continuously to turn out the wafers in greater volume than could be done in the same amount of space with the machine of the prior art.

While we have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and we do not wish to be limited to the precise details described but desire to avail ourselves of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a wafer machine the combination of a supporting framework with guides for movably supporting an endless chain of mould units, each of said mould units comprising a pair of mould halves and one of said mould halves being movably mounted with respect to the other mould half, means for separating said mould halves at a predetermined point in the travel of said endless chain, and means comprising a metal member provided with molding formations forming a continuation of the pattern of said mold actuated thereafter for separating a wafer from one of said mould halves, said latter mould half being provided with moulding formations adapted to retain the wafer on said latter mould half instead of the othermould half.

2. In a wafer machine the combination with a supporting framework of guides for movably supporting an endless chain of mould units, each of said mould units comprising half moulds pivoted end to end and another half mould movably mounted with respect to each of the first mentioned half moulds, one of said half moulds having a metallic part movably mounted in the surface of the mould and adapted to be actuated to separate a wafer from said latter half mould, said movably mounted half moulds being provided with members for engaging guides, guides suitably shaped and located on said framework for engaging said latter members and separating said half moulds as said endless chain progresses to discharge the wafers, said metal members being each mounted on a shaft on each of the first mentioned half moulds, and camming means carried by said shaft and adapted to be actuated by engagement with a part on the framework to lift said metal member from its mould when a predetermined point in the travel of the chain is reached, said framework having another engaging part for engaging said camming means to return said metal memher into the surface of said mould after the wafer has been discharged.

SOL S. LEAF. REGOLO PANZA. 

